Cable Technology Feature Article

Accenture Builds Video Solution for Italian Broadcaster

Accenture, a management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, has built a video solution for Mediaset, a commercial broadcaster in Italy.

The video solution will enable the Italian broadcaster to offer over-the-top services for TV, PC and other devices as part of the Mediaset Premium offer. Accenture (News - Alert) did not disclose the financial details of the multi-year contract with Mediaset.

The solution is designed to allow Mediaset customers to enjoy a seamless consumer experience for accessing linear content, as well as non-linear services such as Catch-up TV, Video on Demand and Virtual Linear Channels on the TV set.

“We are proud to team with Mediaset in this significant and ambitious undertaking. The project reinforces Accenture’s work with leading broadcasters in pioneering innovation for their customers,” said Francesco Venturini, global broadcast lead of Accenture’s Media & Entertainment industry group, in a statement.

The video solution also enables Mediaset to deliver video content to additional platforms including PCs, mobile, gaming consoles and connected TVs, so that its consumers can create their own personal online TV experience, company officials said.

Mediaset is utilizing the Accenture Video Solution to deliver both linear content through the broadcast network and advanced interactive services through an open broadband IP network on industry standard set top boxes.

“We selected Accenture as our innovation partner because of its leading broadcast industry vision and its expertise and deep knowledge in communications network technologies, IT applications and video content delivery as well as management solutions,” said Franco Ricci, managing director at Mediaset’s RTI.

The Accenture Video Solution helps launch new non-linear video services cost effectively by reducing the initial high cost of IT and infrastructure setup. It supports several advanced applications such as targeted advertising, personalized content recommendation and adaptive streaming, depending on available bandwidth.

Recently Accenture announced the expansion of technology agreements with NetApp, a provider of storage and data management solutions, for the joint development, marketing, and delivery of customized solutions focused on data center optimization and virtualization, cloud computing, and application optimization.

Rajani Baburajan is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Rajani's articles, please visit her columnist page.